A “despicable” care worker who stole thousands of pounds from a severely autistic patient with the mental age of a five-year-old, was jailed on Friday.

Trevor Dye would lead the man he was supposed to be caring for to cashpoint machines where he would withdraw large amounts of money in front of him, a judge heard.

He stole the money from severely disabled patient, who the court was told has the mental capacity of a five-year-old child and would not have understood what was happening to him.

In the space of a month Dye, of Valon Road in Arborfield , completely drained the man’s bank account, swindling him of all of his precious £4,553.45 of savings which were earmarked for his care.

However, the 34-year-old will not have to pay a penny in compensation to his victim after a judge heard he had used up all his life savings after being sacked from his £60,000-a-year job in the care industry.

“Regrettable though it is, I think that is the correct course,” said Judge Ian Grainger as he declined to order compensation.

Sitting at Reading Crown Court , the judge heard the victim, who is in his 40s, had his benefits paid into the HSBC account which could then be accessed by Dye, who had his PIN number.

The carer took all of the money in the space of a month in August 2013, taking £1,584 out across 27 cash withdrawals and using the victim’s card to make a further £2,969.45 in fraudulent purchases.

He used the card to buy gift vouchers from clothing chain Republic and technology store Apple, which he then sold on to others for profit, the judge heard.

Daniel Benjamin, prosecuting, said: “This is a high impact offence. Due to his mental difficulties the victim was particularly vulnerable.”

After he was rumbled in September 2013 he initially blamed two co-workers for the fraud and has repeatedly maintained his innocence ever since.

Sentencing him to 18 months in prison, Judge Grainger said: “These were despicable offences against a completely defenceless man who was your charge to look after and protect. Instead of meeting the demands of that role, you repeatedly fleeced him and fleeced him under his nose.

Trevor Dye

“It is an aggravating factor of this case that in relation to at least some of the withdrawals the victim must have been standing there as they were taken.”

Dye, a keen charity campaigner who once launched a campaign in aid of a young teenager with a rare bone cancer, stared straight ahead as the sentence was handed down.

Mr Benjamin said Dye should pay compensation because he had started a new £60,000-a-year job before being arrested in connection with the fraud.

“Mr Dye moved to a new job earning £60,000-a-year and working long hours,” he added.

“Your honour might think therefore that he did not have time to spend all the money and so might be good for compensation.”

However, Judge Grainger rejected his application and said Dye did not need to pay any compensation to his victim.

Alan Walker, defending, said the father-of-two continued to deny his crimes but accepted he would be going to prison.

“As a result of this offence Mr Dye lost his job. He has been out of work since October last year, he had some savings but he has exhausted these as a result of his unemployment.